Charles G. Fancher House

The Charles G. Fancher House of Federal design was built circa 1824. The wooden house is located near the end of Elm Street as it approaches School Street.

The original owner, Charles G. Fancher, for whom the house is named, was once the owner Wright’s Inn and was also Essex’s postmaster for a time (History of Essex, New York).

Fancher House Architecture

Many Federal homes have a five-bay facade, but the Fancher House has a unique three-bay facade with an off-center entrance. The spacing of the windows around the doorway helps balance the street view of the house, prompting passersby to imagine two additional bays to the left, completing the illusion of a symmetrical five-bay facade (“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” 19).

It’s not surprising that many buildings in Essex share similar design features because existing buildings inspired new construction, and the same architects (or the same builders with design knowledge) must have constructed multiple project within the town. The Fancher House’s entranceway includes a broad architrave (horizontal band of moldings used over doors and windows) and half-length sidelights that share a likeness to similar features of the Essex Inn (“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” 19).

Like many of the original Essex historic homes, the Fancher House has undergone changes throughout the years, but the house has managed to retain the original six-panel door, and twelve-over-eight light sash on the second floor windows (“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” 19).

Additional Resources for Charles G. Fancher House

This map (with satellite image overlay) will help you locate the Charles G. Fancher House and see how its location relates to other historic buildings in the historic district.

View Flaneur’s Guide to Essex, New York in a larger map

References for Charles G. Francher House

“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” Essex Community Heritage Organization, 1986.

“Essex Village Historic District.” Living Places. Ed. Julia Gombach. The Gombach Group, 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. .

Hislop, David C., Jr. Essex on Lake Champlain. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2009. Print. Images of America.

“Historic Essex.” Historic Essex. Essex Community Heritage Organization. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.essexny.org/>.

McNulty, George F., and Margaret Scheinin. Essex; the Architectural Heritage. Burlington, VT: Queen City Printers, 1971. Print.

Smith, H. P. History of Essex County: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Syracuse, N. Y.: D. Mason &, 1885. Print.

About Editorial Staff

Posts published under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices, and/or they may be first-time submissions from someone/some organization without a byline of their own; if latter, then the author will be acknowledged in the post. To submit your news for publication on the Essex blog please use the Submit a Story form or contact the editors via email (blue button above), Facebook or Twitter.